The new Physocarpus cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Timothy D. Wood, in Grand Haven, Minn. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Physocarpus varieties with unique foliage and powdery mildew resistance. The open pollination resulting in this new variety was made during Summer of 2010.
The new Physocarpus ‘SMNPOBLR’ resulted from an open pollination with Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Center Glow’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,894 as the seed parent. The pollen parent is unknown. The new variety was identified as a potentially interesting selection in Summer 2013, at a nursery in Grand Haven, Minn.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘SMNPOBLR’ by softwood cuttings was first performed during Summer of 2013, at commercial greenhouse in Grand Haven, Minn. Subsequent propagation has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in 5 successive generations.